COMMENT
Racism still exists only the targets differ
The furore surrounding the alleged racism exhibited by some Celebrity
Big Brother contestants towards Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty contains
disturbing echoes of the past for many in the Irish community.
Jade Goody’s labelling of the actress as Shilpa Poppadom and questions
as to whether she lived in a house or a shack bear similarities to the
Paddy jokes of old and tired assumptions about the Irish way of life.
Thankfully those stereotyped views of the Irish and Ireland itself have
changed over the past few years. The days of signs reading No Blacks,
No Irish, No Dogs have faded into the past and we Irish are more admired
than anything else.
But the tawdry goings on in the Celebrity Big Brother house over the past
few days have sent a stark warning that racism still flourishes in certain
parts of the community — even if those who are spouting it deny
the accusation.
It manifests itself in a fear of anyone from a different culture and an
almost obsessive desire to denigrate anything that doesn’t fit into
a narrow Little Englander viewpoint.
The spectacle of Shilpa Shetty being abused and vilified for her background
and ethnic roots was surely one of the most unedifying pieces of television
to be screened in a very long while.
But if it opens people’s eyes to the fact that this sort of behaviour
is still considered acceptable in some deluded sections of the population
then perhaps it may in the end go some way towards doing some good.
For it will at least make people recognise that the battle against racism
is far from being won — and a great deal still needs to be done.
The Irish down the years have endured their fair share of racist abuse.
So we should be prepared to condemn it and do whatever we can to protect
other ethnic groups when they too are singled out.
Perhaps a good start would be to stop watching any TV programmes featuring
the likes of Jade Goody and her friends. That might start to finally get
the message through to them.
A worthy cause
This week sees the launch of the All Ireland Golf Championship —
a mammoth event featuring 1,000 golfers playing four courses in Ireland
in the biggest one-day event the sport has ever seen.
The aim is a day of fun and enjoyment to raise much-needed funds for facilities
for elderly Irish in Britain and help combat the loneliness and isolation
that many of them suffer.
It is a cause which has the full backing of The Irish Post — which
is why we have joined with charity Safe Start, the Union of Irish Golf
Societies and main sponsor Bank Of Ireland to stage this unique event.
Now we need your help to ensure its success. Whether you are a golfer
or not please turn to page 28 of this newspaper to see how you can get
involved.
Enter a team, sponsor part of the day or send a donation — whatever
you can to help.
You can be assured the money will be going to one of the most deserving
causes of all.
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